This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
China’s alleged intimidation of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) aircraft on a routine patrol over a disputed South China Sea shoal has raised questions over its sincerity to deescalate tension in the waterway, officials and analysts said Monday.
On Aug. 8, two Chinese Air Force aircraft allegedly dropped flares in the path of the Philippine Air Force NC-212i plane over Scarborough Shoal, forcing it to turn around for the safety of its pilots and crew. The NC-212i is a light-lift, fixed-wing propeller airplane used by Manila to patrol its vast coastline.
The Chinese jets flew at a “very close distance” to the Philippine plane and “put the lives of our pilots in real risk and danger,” the Associated Press quoted a Manila security official as saying. Another security officer told the AP that the Chinese fighter jets fired at least eight flares at the Philippine aircraft.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident, AP reported.
Last week’s encounter was the first known incident in which China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft fired flares at a PAF plane doing a routine patrol over Manila-claimed waters in the South China Sea.
It also came shortly after both sides in July agreed to dial down tensions in the South China Sea after a standoff between Chinese and Philippine forces during a resupply mission near Second (Ayungin) Thomas Shoal the previous month.
“I don’t know why [the Chinese forces] did it. It took us by surprise,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters on Monday, referring to the latest incident.
He said the National Maritime Council created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in March to strengthen the archipelago’s maritime security amid territorial challenges will convene this week.
“Definitely, we will protest. China always said it wanted to deescalate, but every time there is an incident like this, certainly, it tends to raise tensions. So, it is something that we have to pay close attention to,” Manalo said.
Also on Monday, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called on China to abide by international law regarding the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for its South China Sea territories.
He said the government has “to expect that this is a continuous pattern that China will do against us.”
“This is a continuous struggle for presence and for assertion of sovereign rights in the area so you will have to expect these things to happen,” Teodoro said.
‘Unjustified, illegal, and reckless’
The incident at Scarborough Shoal occurred days after the Philippines joined the United States, Australia and Canada for maritime patrol and air drills in the West Philippine Sea.
“I strongly condemn the air incident in Bajo de Masinloc earlier this week, and [stand] by our brave men and women of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), especially the Philippine Air Force,” Marcos said in a statement on Sunday, using the Filipino name of Scarborough Shoal.
He said the actions of the Chinese air force “were unjustified, illegal and reckless, especially as the PAF aircraft was undertaking a routine maritime security operation in Philippine sovereign airspace.”
“The Philippines will always remain committed to proper diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes. However, we strongly urge China to demonstrate that it is fully capable of responsible action, both in the seas and in the skies,” he said.
The China Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews request for comment.
On Saturday, the PLA’s Southern Theater Command said the Philippine aircraft had illegally intruded into Chinese-claimed waters despite repeated warnings.
“The on-site operations of the PLA [were] professional and legitimate,” it said in a statement.
“We warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype. China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters,” the PLA said, using China’s name for the shoal, which lies 125 nautical miles (232 km) off the west coast of Luzon, the Philippines’ main island.
China’s ‘doublespeak’
Defense and security analyst Sherwin Ona, who teaches at Manila’s De La Salle University, said China’s agreement with the Philippines to cool down the tensions in the South China Sea was “classic doublespeak.”
“It seems like Beijing’s deescalation is only good for only one news cycle,” he told BenarNews.
Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said diplomacy would be Manila’s first line of defense, noting that at this stage it was crucial to go through the diplomatic route.
“The filing of protest is very important to the Philippines and that is the best resort right now. This is the first time the Chinese tried to threaten us and intimidate us up in the sky,” he said.
“If we were successful enough in our transparency strategy at sea, we have to also document what they are doing in the sky,” he said.
Ona said the incident raises the need for Manila to improve its domain awareness capabilities and invest in defenses protecting its air defense identification zone. He said it was unlikely that Manila miscalculated China’s strategy.
“It’s just that the tempo of these incursions has increased dramatically with the announcement of U.S. military assistance and the conduct of joint maritime patrols,” Ona said.
He was referring to Washington’s pledge last month of a $500 million (28.6 billion pesos) infusion to boost its defenses against Chinese activities in the sea region.
“Apparently, the message from Beijing is that ‘we are still in control.’ Might is right,” Ona said.
He predicted that with the renewed U.S. defense commitment, Manila would again be subjected by China to more provocations.
“Unfortunately, these incidents will only increase since Beijing knows that the Philippines cannot adequately respond to these challenges at the moment,” he said.
China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes each year, putting it at odds with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan who all have their own territorial claims.
